40+ Productivity Tools for Virtual Assistants in 2024

Virtual assistants handle diverse tasks, more than a typical office job. Handling these tasks manually can seem overwhelming, but the right productivity tool can offer a time-saving solution.

To save you from sifting through endless online lists, we’ve crafted a neat lineup of the top 40+ productivity tools for virtual assistants, categorized into ten key areas:

• Time Tracking
• Communication Software
• Password Management
• Scheduling & Appointments
• Calendars
• Project Management
• File Sharing & Cloud Storage
• Accounting & Bookkeeping
• Social Media Management
• Operations & Process Documentation

No need to read the whole guide—just pick the category you’re interested in. These tools make your work timely and more organized. We’ve detailed everything from features to pricing to help you start working smarter right away.

Productive VA Tools for Time Tracking

Time-tracking productivity tools are essential for virtual assistants (VAs) to manage and optimize their work hours effectively. For example, for a virtual receptionist precise time tracking is a must. To withstand today’s vast competition among thousands of VAs and make the job secure, you just need to incorporate time-tracking productivity tools.

1. Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a versatile time-tracking tool. It helps professionals to manage work hours across different projects and tasks. Its simplicity and user-friendly interface are known to all. This makes it suitable for anyone, from freelancers to large teams. It helps to smooth their time management practices.

Features:

• One-click timers
• Detailed reporting with customizable reports
• Real-time tracking across devices
• Automated tracking of desktop activities
• The dark mode is available for reduced eye strain

Remarkable Benefits:

• Toggl Track allows users to generate detailed productivity reports manually or automatically, which can be sent to an email inbox on a schedule.
• The tool ensures that all billable hours are accurately recorded, so you never miss out on billing for the time spent on a project.

Pricing:

• Free plans include basic features, forever free
• Advanced features at $10 per user/month
• Premium plan is $18-20 per user/month

Why Should You Take It?

For people like me whose journey started alone, you can consider Toggle Track for a free or budget-friendly time-tracking tool. Also, the standout feature of Toggle Track is that it has three different solutions according to business size: freelancers or solopreneurs and small and big teams.

2. Harvest

Harvest simplifies time tracking and invoicing. This makes it ideal for teams and freelancers. It provides insightful reports that help understand project time allocation and manage team capacities.

Features:

• Time and expense tracking
• Real-time access to project budgets
• Integration with multiple tools like Slack and Trello
• Mobile app availability for on-the-go tracking

Remarkable Benefits:

• Easy invoicing and billing processes with online payment.
• The software can send automated payment reminders to clients, ensuring that payments are received on time.

Pricing:

• Free plan limited to 1 user and two projects
• Pro plan $10.80 per person/month for unlimited projects

Why Should You Take It?

Expense Tracking with Receipt Scanning may interest you to use this productivity tool. Harvest offers a feature where you can track expenses by simply taking photos of receipts. The software then automatically records these expenses.

3. Clockify

Clockify is a free time tracker and timesheet app that allows unlimited users and projects. This makes it ideal for businesses looking to scale without additional cost.

Features:

• Unlimited tracking
• Dashboard for a project and team overview
• Billable hours and budget management
• Reporting and exporting functions
• Cross-platform compatibility

Remarkable Benefits:

• Clockify provides 24/7 customer support, ensuring that help is available whenever needed.
• The tool includes a timer, timesheet, calendar, auto tracker, and kiosk mode, catering to various time-tracking preferences and needs.

Pricing:

• Free $0, fully functional
• BASIC Administration $ 3.99
• STANDARD
• Timesheeting & Billing $ 5.49

Why Should You Take It?

Clockify offers free access for unlimited users and projects, which is ideal for startups and growing businesses. This is particularly beneficial for virtual assistants, where business growth doesn’t come with added costs.

4. Hubstaff

Hubstaff offers time tracking with screenshots, activity levels, and in-depth reporting. It is ideal for managing remote teams. If you have a team of remote assistants, then increasing productivity with Hubstaff will not be a big deal anymore.

Features:

• Automated payroll, time, and over-time tracker
• GPS tracking
• Online timesheets
• Project budgeting and invoicing
• Detailed productivity monitoring
• Geolocation for mobile teams

Remarkable Benefits:

• The tool provides actionable productivity data to help teams reach peak efficiency by tracking active work time and offering insights into how time is spent.
• The tool is designed with privacy in mind so the team members’ data is handled responsibly.

Pricing:

• Starter $4.99 / seat/mo
• Premium plan $10 per user/month
• Enterprise $2500 / seat/mo

Why Should You Take It?

For me, Hubstaff’s key feature is its advanced monitoring capabilities, such as GPS tracking, online timesheets, and productivity measurement tools. These functionalities are ideal for virtual assistants in remote teams.

5. Time Doctor

Time Doctor can be a great alternative to Hubstaff in case someone is not comfortable using It. This tool offers detailed insights into productivity with features like distraction alerts and web and app usage monitoring, which are not as comprehensively available in many other time-tracking tools. 

Features:

• Time tracking with screenshots
• Distraction alerts
• Web and app usage monitoring
• Payroll integration
• Offers insights into team performance
• Integrates with over 50 apps

Remarkable Benefits:

• Time Doctor ensures enterprise-level security and compliance with GDPR & HIPAA, along with custom user roles and permission settings.
• Reduces time wasted on unproductive tasks.

Pricing:

• Basic plan $5.9 per user/month
• Premium $16.7 user/month
• Standard plan $8.4 per user/month

Why Should You Take It?

Need to optimize your focus? For VAs who work in environments where distractions can be a major hurdle to productivity, Time Doctor’s Standard Plan provides tools to help maintain focus and enhance efficiency.

Virtual Assistant Software for Communication

Like other skills, communication skills are very crucial for virtual assistants. Thus software for communication includes tools like Slack, TrueConf, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. These tools help virtual assistants (VAs) stay connected with their teams and clients.

6. Zoom

Zoom is a comprehensive and popular communication platform that is great for improving the productivity of VAs. It’s known for its reliability and ease of use. Zoom also offers a Timer app, which is a tool for improving time management skills and streamlining meetings.

Features:

• HD video and audio conferencing
• Screen sharing and co-annotation
• Virtual backgrounds and noise suppression
• Meeting recording and transcripts
• Integrated chat with file sharing

Remarkable Benefits:

• It offers end-to-end encryption for all meetings, role-based user security, password protection, waiting rooms, and the ability to place attendees on hold.
• Participants can share their screens or use Zoom’s whiteboard feature to collaborate in real-time.

Pricing:

• The basic plan is free, with a 40-minute limit on group meetings
• The pro plan is $12.49 per user/month
• Business plan $18.32 per user/month
• Enterprise plan custom pricing

Why Should You Take It?

For me, Zoom has always been my first choice for communication with my team. This productivity tool never takes you extra time to explore the options. I want to say about the user-friendliness of the functionality. You can start meetings with your clients just in a minute.

7. Slack

Slack is a dynamic workspace that structures team communication into channels for better information sharing and collaboration. It integrates with many tools and services, enhancing workflow and project management.

Features:

• Organized channels for team communication
• Direct messaging and group calls
• File sharing and searchable history
• Integration with numerous apps like Google Drive and Asana
• Customizable notifications and workflows

Remarkable Benefits:

• Streamlines communication by consolidating all conversations into one platform.
• A standout feature of Slack is its powerful integration capability with over 2,000 third-party applications, enhancing productivity without switching platforms.

Pricing:

• Free plan access to 10,000 recent messages
• Pro plan at $7.25 per user/month
• The business+ plan is $12.50 per user/month

Why Should You Take It?

Slack excels in streamlining communication through its organized channel-based system. Also, you will feel like you are using social media messaging apps that make it super easy to communicate with your team.

8. Google Meet

Google Meet is a secure and straightforward video conferencing solution integrated with Google Workspace. It’s accessible across devices and designed to facilitate easy entry via link sharing, making it suitable for businesses and education.

Features:

• Video calls with up to 250 participants
• Live streaming to up to 100,000 viewers within a domain
• Real-time captions powered by Google’s speech recognition
• Adjustable layouts and screen settings
• Integration with Google Calendar for scheduled meetings

Remarkable Benefits:

• Provides a secure platform with anti-abuse features to ensure safety.
• Easy to use with a minimal learning curve.

Pricing:

• Google Workspace Essentials $8 per user/month
• Business Standard: $12 per user/month

Why Should You Take It?

There is no need to describe why you should take Google Meet. This is a platform the majority use for communication. All you need to do is explore the features to enhance productivity in your virtual assistant roles.

9. Microsoft Team

Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform that integrates with Microsoft 365. It’s designed to enhance teamwork through chat, video meetings, file storage, and application integration.

Features:

• Chat, meetings, calls, and collaboration all in one platform
• Integration with Microsoft 365 applications like Excel and PowerPoint
• Extensive third-party app integrations
• Advanced security and compliance capabilities
• Tools for workflow automation

Remarkable Benefits:

• Offers extensive customization and workflow integration.
• Supports a hybrid workplace with advanced meeting features.

Pricing:

• Microsoft Teams Essentials $4 per user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic $6.00 user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard $12.50 user/month

Why Should You Take It?

Microsoft Teams is best suited for organizations that rely heavily on Microsoft products and require a deep level of integration across their communication and productivity tools.

Best Password Management Tools for Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants offer numerous services where password management can be daunting. However, the tools we enlisted can greatly enhance productivity. These handy tools ensure that multiple passwords are securely stored and effectively managed.

10. 1Password

1Password is a robust password manager that simplifies secure access across all your devices. It offers a seamless way to store, manage, and retrieve passwords and private documents through its encrypted vault. The platform is ideal for individual users and businesses looking for a comprehensive password management solution.

Features:

• Single master password setup
• Browser extensions for easy access
• Secure document and data storage
• Watchtower feature to monitor security breaches and vulnerable passwords
• Multi-factor authentication for added security

Remarkable Benefits:

• Centralized passwords and sensitive information securely. This enhances online security with strong, unique passwords and provides peace of mind with robust encryption.
• Simplifies login procedures across devices with autofill options.

Pricing:

• Individual plan $2.99 per month
• Family plan $4.99 per month for up to 5 people
• Teams plan $3.99 per person/month
• Business plan $7.99 per person/month
• All plans offer a 14-day free trial

Why Should You Take It?

1Password stands out with its Travel Mode, which removes sensitive data from devices when crossing borders and restores access with a click once safety is ensured. This feature is ideal for virtual assistants (VAs) who travel frequently and need to maintain security in different jurisdictions.

11. Dashlane

 

Dashlane is a feature-rich password manager designed for both personal and professional use. It offers extensive security features, a patented security architecture, and AES 256-bit encryption, making it highly secure for storing sensitive information.

Features:

• Unlimited password storage and passkeys
• Secure password sharing and autofill capabilities
• Real-time phishing alerts
• VPN for WiFi protection and passwordless login
• VPN for WiFi protection

Remarkable Benefits:

• Dashlane monitors the dark web for leaked logins and alerts you if your information is found so you can take immediate action.

Pricing:

• Free plan basic features for one device
• Premium plan $4.99 per month
• Family plan $7.49 per month
• Business plan $8 per user/month

Why Should You Take It?

Dashlane is unique in its ability to change passwords instantly on over 500 websites with its Password Changer feature. Isn’t it cool to be more productive at work, specifically when managing numerous online accounts?

12. LastPass

LastPass is a comprehensive password management tool that facilitates secure password storage and management for both individuals and organizations. It’s known for its easy-to-use platform that supports password storage, autofill, password generation, and various advanced security features.

Features:

• Unlimited password storage
• Automated device syncing across all platforms
• Secure password-sharing capabilities
• Advanced multi-factor authentication options
• Dark web monitoring to alert users of potential data breaches

Remarkable Benefits:

• Allows for emergency access to ensure data availability in critical situations.
• Supports secure sharing of passwords and sensitive data with trusted users.

Pricing:

• Free plan basic features on one device type
• Premium plan $3 per month
• Family plan $4 per month
• Teams plan $4 per user/month
• Business plan $6 per user/month

Why Should You Take It?

LastPass is a valuable tool for virtual assistants. It allows emergency access to critical online resources and ensures continuity even in unforeseen circumstances.

13. NordPass

Another secure tool for password management is NordPass. Like other tools, it offers all the basic features for managing passwords. It also enhances online security by storing and managing passwords, credit card information, and other sensitive data using top-grade encryption. This tool simplifies password management across multiple devices.

Features:

• Unlimited password storage
• Autosave & autofill capabilities
• Data breach scanning and password health assessments
• Secure item sharing and email masking options

Remarkable Benefits:

• Secures data with advanced XChaCha20 encryption for high security.
• Offers emergency access features, allowing trusted contacts access in critical situations.

Pricing:

• Free plan basic features available on one device
• Premium plan $1.49 per month
• Family plan $2.79 per month

Why Should You Take It?

If you need faster and more reliable security options for password management, use NordPass with XChaCha20 encryption as a virtual assistant. There are also biometric logins and two-factor authentications for additional security.

VA Tools for Scheduling & Appointments

Virtual scheduling assistants can efficiently manage multiple schedules, reduce the chance of double-booking, and ensure timely communication with these tools.

14. Calendly

Calendly is an automated scheduling platform that simplifies the process of arranging meetings, eliminating the need for back-and-forth emails. It’s widely used by professionals across various industries to manage appointments efficiently.

Features:

• Automated scheduling
• Integrations with popular tools like Zoom, Salesforce, and Google Calendar
• Customizable reminder and follow-up workflows
• Team scheduling capabilities
• Time zone intelligence

Remarkable Benefits:

• Calendly provides a range of useful features, such as tracking and reporting options. Add UTM parameters to scheduling links to keep track of conversions, and export event details into a CSV file for further analysis.
• With a professional appearance, Calendly can help make a great impression on clients and colleagues by simplifying the meeting scheduling process.

Pricing:

• The basic plan is free with limited features
• Standard plan $10 per user/month
• Team $16 per/month

Why Should You Take It?

Calendly offers a “time zone intelligent” scheduling feature that not only adjusts for the time zones of all participants but also sends reminders according to each participant’s local time. As a VA, you can coordinate synchronized meetings with international clients.

15. Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a versatile scheduling tool that is integral to virtual assistants’ productivity. It helps manage appointments and schedules efficiently, integrates with various Google services, and is accessible across devices.

Features:

• Event creation and invitation
• Calendar sharing and visibility options
• Integration with Google Workspace
• Automatic event addition from Gmail
• Easy collaboration with clients and teams
• RSVP options
• Appointment schedules

Remarkable Benefits:

• Data will be synchronized across all devices to make it easily accessible no matter where the location is.
• Enhances time management with customizable reminders and notifications.

Pricing:

• Free basic features are available at no cost

Why Should You Take It?

Google Calendar offers smart suggestions for event titles, places, and people. This can speed up the event creation process significantly. This AI-driven feature learns from your previous activities to provide faster and more relevant suggestions.

16. Doodle

Doodle makes scheduling meetings a breeze by letting people choose their best meeting times through an online poll. It’s super handy for organizing meetings with different groups.

Features:

• Poll creation for meeting times
• Integration with calendars like Google Calendar and Outlook
• Automatic reminder settings
• Mobile app availability for on-the-go access

Remarkable Benefits:

• Finding a time that suits everyone is easy, which enhances collaboration.
• Personalize the settings to match your specific requirements, whether you’re an individual or part of an organization.

Pricing:

• Free basic polling with limited features.
• Pro $6.95 per user per month
• Team $8.95 per user per month
• Custom pricing for large organizations

Why Should You Take It?

Anonymous polling is one of the unique features of Doodle. Here, participants can vote on available times anonymously. This is beneficial for decision-making scenarios where participants may prefer to keep their preferences private until a consensus is reached.

Calendars for Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistant for digital calendar management tracking all of the meetings or deadlines is important. As a virtual assistant, you need to maintain strict deadlines all the time. So, try to incorporate these tools into your daily life.

17. Woven

Woven is a sophisticated calendar management tool for virtual assistant time tracking. Even if you have existing calendars, you can integrate Woven and enjoy the advanced intellectual features. It integrates all stages of the calendar lifecycle, including planning, scheduling, preparation, meetings, and follow-up.

Features:

• Integration with Google’s G Suite and, in the future, Microsoft Office 365
• Create events or choose from suggested events based on email content
• The map view shows travel times and adjustable draft event times
• Options for tagging events and adding private notes
• Intuitive Dashboard

Remarkable Benefits:

• Offers public and one-time scheduling links to streamline the coordination process.
• Provides a comprehensive calendar experience combined with smart scheduling tools.
• Allows users to share their availability easily with others.
• Provides templates for common types of meetings, saving time in scheduling.

Pricing:

• Currently, available features are free.
• Plans to offer advanced features and analytics tools through paid subscriptions in the future.

Why Should You Take It?

Woven has an amazing feature that might interest you more like me, which is the automated email coordination to help find mutually convenient meeting times. This simplifies the process of finding a meeting time that works for all participants.

18. SimplyBook.me

SimplyBook.me is an online booking system designed for service-oriented businesses. It provides a flexible and customizable platform for clients to book appointments and services. The 24/7 availability lets VAs work from different geographical locations and never miss an appointment booking.

Features:

• Online booking widget integration for websites.
• Customizable service and provider setups.
• Notifications via SMS and email for both clients and service providers.
• Many promotional features, including gift cards and coupons.

Remarkable Benefits:

• Streamlines the booking process for both VA and their clients.
• Offers extensive customization options to fit specific business needs.
• Includes a marketing suite to help businesses attract and retain customers.

Pricing:

• Free plan with limited features.
• Basic $8.25
• Standard $24.9
• Premium $49.9

Why Should You Take It?

Today’s virtual assistant jobs are not confined only to administrative support. Their service varies from real estate VA, Pinterest VA, or others. SimplyBook.me, industry-based, gives Personal Assistant Scheduling and lets any type of VA work within their niche-related clients.

19. Apple Calendar

Apple Calendar, also known as iCal, is a good calendar management productivity tool for VAs using Apple devices. iCal is a personal calendar app that is included with MacOS and iOS devices. It offers a clean, user-friendly interface and integrates seamlessly with other Apple apps and services.

Features:

• Integration with iCloud for syncing calendars across all Apple devices
• Ability to create and manage multiple color-coded calendars
• Event invitations and RSVP tracking via iCloud
• Integration with Maps for location-based notifications

Remarkable Benefits:

• User-friendly interface and easy to navigate and manage your schedule.
• Simple and intuitive interface, making it easy to manage personal schedules.
• Reliable notifications and event management features.

Pricing:

• Free for all users of Apple devices

Why Should You Take It?

Apple device users should definitely utilize this Virtual Assistant booking calendar since it seamlessly syncs your information across all Apple devices without any extra hassle. I highly suggest this app as a dependable and easy-to-use solution.

20. Outlook Calendar

If you are a Microsoft Office user, then it is possible you already worked on this calendar management tool. This is a productivity tool for managing personal and professional schedules. Because of its integration with Microsoft Outlook email and other Office applications, corporate environments use this more.

Features:

• Detailed calendar views
• Integration with email for easy scheduling and invitation management
• Sharing and permission settings for team calendars
• Supports multiple time zones
• Appointment and Event Creation

Remarkable Benefits:

• Extensive integration with Microsoft Office tools, enhancing productivity for professional users.
• Robust features for managing complex schedules and multiple calendars.
• This can give great meeting planning assistance.
• Strong support for collaboration through shared calendars.

Pricing:

• Pricing starts at $6.99 per month for personal use and varies for business plans

Why Should You Take It?

Two unique features can make you use this tool. Firstly, with access to SharePoint, you can check out the events lists on your Outlook Calendar and make edits to the list in Outlook. Secondly, it works without the internet because the changes automatically sync once reconnected.

Project Management Software for Virtual Assistant

To get clients, and manage tasks perfectly, project management software is irreplaceable. With the right tools, your success will speak to your clients.

21. Asana

Asana is a robust project management tool designed to help teams organize, track, and manage work efficiently. It is a versatile tool for various use cases, such as content planning, event planning, and product listing or development. Experienced virtual assistants who have been in the industry for years are in need of high-quality projection management, and this tool is their ultimate solution.

Features:

• Task management with clear ownership and deadlines
• Project views offering list, calendar, timeline, Gantt chart, and Kanban board views
• Custom fields and reporting
• Automate routine tasks and integrate with over 270 apps
• Features robust admin and security settings to manage teams and protect data
• Resource management, workload, and time tracking

Remarkable Benefits:

• Helps in organizing tasks and projects in a centralized place, enhancing visibility and tracking.
• Facilitates team communication and collaboration, reducing miscommunication and duplication of work through integrated tools and shared views.
• It provides a comprehensive overview of the overall project schedule, letting you see when different tasks are due.

Pricing:

• Basic: Free for teams of up to 10 people, with limited features
• Premium: Starts at $10.99 per user per month
• Business: Starts at $24.99 per user per month, including portfolios, workload management, and advanced integrations
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced

Why Should You Take It?

As a remote assistant if you want your task smartly organized then Asana Ai can help you with that. You can ask Asana questions about your tasks and projects to get timely insights and determine the next steps. There are many additional smart benefits you can get.

22. ClickUp

ClickUp is a versatile project management tool that is both powerful and budget-friendly. It offers extensive customization options to suit various workflow needs, from simple task management to complex project planning.

Features:

• All-in-One Platform to plan, track, and collaborate on any project
• ClickUp provides over 15 different views
• Customizable feature
• Customization software includes adjusting themes or colors, etc
• Supports over 1,000 integrations
• Enhances team collaboration and increases visibility across projects

Remarkable Benefits:

• ClickUp boasts a scalable architecture that can grow with your business, making it suitable for VAs or teams of all types across any industry.
• ClickUp’s free plan includes a robust number of features like collaborative docs, whiteboards, Kanban boards, unlimited tasks, and Sprint management.

Pricing:

• Free tier available
• Paid plans start at $7 per user per month when billed annually

Why Should You Take It?

Using and researching several project management software for VAs, I most often ended up with pricy ones. This is a problem for entrepreneur VAs or tight-budget workers. Here, ClickUp’s budget-friendly offerings are the solution.

23. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is known for its ability to manage both simple and complex projects with numerous features. Keep track of billable and non-billable hours by entering them manually or using timers. You can also sync with Zoho Invoice to create invoices automatically based on your timesheets. The best part is that it starts at $5, which is suitable for most virtual assistants’ budgets.

Features:

• Task automation, timesheet management, and Gantt charts
• Integration with other Zoho apps and many third-party tools
• Offers issue tracking and project forums
• Create project baselines
• Portfolio dashboard
• Strong reporting features for monitoring project progress

Remarkable Benefits:

• Customize layouts to match your project needs for projects, tasks, and issues.
• Make sure to efficiently document and monitor any issues or bugs that arise in your projects to ensure they get resolved promptly.
• Good for both small teams and large enterprises due to its scalability.

Pricing:

• Free plan available
• Paid plans start at $4 per user per month

Why Should You Take It?

People like me, who always juggle tons of work, do not have time to make a new layout according to specific needs. Here, Zoho projects a new “Template” feature that offers a wide range of templates to cut down on planning time and start working faster.

24. Basecamp

Basecamp is praised for its simplicity. They aim to help small businesses or entrepreneurs, so project management never becomes an obstacle toward progress. Basecamp makes it easy to manage billing, save money, and streamline the onboarding process. With Basecamp, you can do everything in one place. So, no need for separate apps for chatting, sharing files, managing tasks, or scheduling.

Features:

• To-do lists, milestone management, file sharing, and message boards
• Integrates a unique feature called “Campfires” for real-time group chat
• Hill charts are a unique feature that provides a visual representation of tasks
• Built-in collaboration tool
• Basecamp has a dedicated inbox for notifications

Remarkable Benefits:

• One flat price includes unlimited users and projects, which is ideal for teams looking for predictable billing.
• A handy search feature that allows you to quickly find the information you need within your projects.
• Clients can be added to projects as guests, which can streamline communication and feedback without additional costs.

Pricing:

• $99 per month for unlimited users and projects

Why Should You Take It?

While working remotely, if your role is to manage a team, then tracking who is working and who is not is quite tough. However, Basecamp’s “What Works” feature has the option to indicate who is actively involved in the project and who is simply observing.

25. Jira

This productivity tool is primarily designed for software development teams. Jira supports Agile project management with Scrum and Kanban boards, along with issue tracking. Virtual assistants can customize Jira to fit their specific project management processes.

Features:

• Customizable workflows and real-time collaboration
• Extensive integration capabilities
• Powerful tools for bug tracking and software development
• Agile and scrum management

Remarkable Benefits:

• Integrates deeply with Atlassian’s other tools like Confluence and Bitbucket.
• Jira, originally focused on tech support, is great at managing problems, and helping teams efficiently track and fix bugs.
• Jira’s ticketing system makes it easy to solve issues and ensures everyone stays updated on the progress.

Pricing:

• Free for up to 10 users
• Standard plan starts at $7.16 per user per month
• Premium $12.48

Why Should You Take It?

Jira stands out from other project management tools because it offers support for both Scrum and Kanban boards. It’s highly customizable to suit teams of all sizes and project requirements.

Best Tools for File Sharing & Cloud Storage

In the long list of what a VA does, file sharing is another important point. Also, being a virtual helper, all your work is done online, where cloud storage are must-have for you. Here is a list with an effective budgeting solution.

26. Google Drive

Google Drive is a cloud storage and synchronization service by Google that lets users store files in the cloud, sync them across devices, and share them. This is an incredible productivity tool for VA, as you can integrate Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Features:

• Seamless synchronization across devices
• Integration with Google Workspace apps
• File sharing and collaborative editing
• Search functionality using natural language
• Backups for Android device data

Remarkable Benefits:

• Files can be made available offline so you can work without an internet connection.
• You can share files and folders with others and control their level of access, from view-only to full editing rights.
• Google Drive offers 15GB of free storage space, which can be used for documents, photos, and other files.

Pricing:

• 15 GB of free storage
• Paid plans for additional storage starting at 100 GB

Why Should You Take It?

Among most other cloud-based file-sharing tools specifically for VAs, Google Drive provides the most free storage, 15 GB. This is great for newbie virtual helpers who have just started working. When I started my work, Google Drive really helped me as a vast digital storage without extra expenses.

27. DropBox

For remote workers, another tool to increase productivity is DropBox. It integrates with a multitude of applications, enhancing both individual and team productivity. For administrative VA, team management becomes easier with the admin features, as it provides insights into team activity.

Features:

• File storage and backup
• Easy sharing and collaboration on documents
• Advanced security and compliance tools
• File recovery and version history
• Integration with third-party apps like Slack and Zoom
• Create screen recordings and video messages

Remarkable Benefits:

• It provides features like password protection, expiring links, and download permissions to keep shared files secure.
• File Size Limit Up to 2 TB per file.

Pricing:

• The basic plan free with 2 GB of storage
• Essentials $19.99/month
• Business $15/month with 9 TB of storage
• Business Plus $32/month with 15 TB of storage.

Why Should You Take It?

A lesser-known feature of Dropbox is its “document scanner,” which is integrated into the mobile app. Scan documents directly into their Dropbox account using their mobile device’s camera. It converts physical documents into high-quality PDFs.

28. Sync

Sync is a comprehensive cloud storage and collaboration platform that is amazing in terms of both privacy and functionality. It also provides features such as file versioning to track changes made to a file and revert to previous versions if needed.

Features:

• Real-time backup and synchronization across devices
• Advanced sharing controls and permissions
• End-to-end encryption for enhanced security
• Integration with popular office tools and support for custom branding
• File restoration

Remarkable Benefits:

• Zero-knowledge encryption ensures that only you can access your data.
• With an administrator account, you can easily create user accounts for each member of your team. Manage your entire team effortlessly with Sync admin tools. 

Pricing:

• Free plan available with basic features and 5 GB storage
• Solo Basic is $8/month with 2 TB of secure storage
• Solo Professional is $20/month for 6 TB
• Team plans start at $6/user/month

Why Should You Take It?

Sync’s “vault” feature allows you to securely store sensitive information online without automatically syncing it to all devices connected to your account.

29. Box

Here, we come up with a tool that provides cloud content management along with cloud storage. Since cloud-based storage tools need top security, you can rely on Box, too. This is a fantastic tool for storing and sharing a wide range of files, including presentations, design documents, videos, and photos.

Features:

• Secure file sharing and collaboration across any device
• Over 1,500 app integrations
• Advanced security measures, including granular access permissions and threat detection
• Box supports international data residency requirements

Remarkable Benefits:

• Empower teams with tools for digital asset management, workflow automation, and custom app development.
• Let VAs store files in specific regions to comply with local regulations
• Enhances productivity with features like full-text search and file versioning.

Pricing:

• Business $17.30
• Business plus $28.70
• Enterprise $40.30
• Enterprise plus custom

Why Should You Take It?

Box has this cool thing called “Box Skills” that uses machine learning tools to make business stuff easier. With Box Skills, you can automatically organize things, pull out important info from files, and even make media files more accessible.

Accounting & Bookkeeping VA Tools

Accounting or bookkeeping virtual assistants benefit by managing clients’ finances where there is no room for a single mistake. Being a human is impossible, but you can perfect your responsibility only by starting to use some tools.

30. Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software known for its user-friendly interface and powerful features. It streamlines accounting processes, helping businesses manage their finances more efficiently.

Features:

• Invoicing and billing
• Bank reconciliation
• Expense tracking
• Payroll management
• Reporting and analytics

Remarkable Benefits:

• Automatically calculate GST and get ready to submit business activity statements to the ATO.
• Xero can automatically import bank transactions, save time on data entry, and help keep accounts up-to-date.

Pricing:

• Starter $29 per month
• Standard $46 per month
• Premium $62 per month

Why Should You Take It?

Xero offers a distinctive feature called “Xero HQ Ask,” which facilitates seamless communication between accountants and their clients directly on the platform. As a virtual assistant for data entry, you can better streamline the data collection process in financial reporting and tax preparation.

31. QuickBooks

QuickBooks is another accounting solution suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. It simplifies financial management tasks, especially for virtual assistants. QuickBooks virtual assistants can stay both organized and productive. 

Features:

• Invoicing and payments
• Expense tracking
• Tax Preparation
• Inventory management
• Customizable reports

Remarkable Benefits:

• Ensure accurate tax calculations and compliance with local, state, and federal tax laws.
• Share access with your accountant or team members for collaborative financial management.

Pricing:

• Simple start $18 per month
• Essentials $27 per month
• Plus, $38 per month

Why Should You Take It?

One of the less-discussed features of QuickBooks is its “Advanced Pricing” for personalized pricing based on various factors. You can save time on manual updates.

32. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is an intuitive accounting software designed for freelancers and small businesses. It offers simple yet powerful tools to streamline invoicing and expense tracking.

Features:

• Time tracking
• Client management
• Project management
• Expense categorization
• Automated late payment reminders

Remarkable Benefits:

• Save time with automated recurring invoices.
• Speed up transactions with secure online payment processing.

Pricing:

• Lite $9.50 per month
• Plus $16.50 per month
• Premium $30 per month

Why Should You Take It?

FreshBooks offers a special tool called “Proposals” that lets users create detailed proposals with outlines, timelines, deliverables, and budgets. Once approved by the client, these proposals can easily be turned into invoices, streamlining sales and financial tasks.

33. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting solution suitable for businesses of all sizes. It provides tools to manage finances, track expenses, and streamline invoicing processes.

Features:

• Bank reconciliation
• Inventory management
• Project billing
• Expense tracking
• Time tracking

Remarkable Benefits:

• Seamless integration with other Zoho applications
• Multi-currency support for global businesses
• Customizable reports for better insights

Pricing:

• Basic $0 per organization per month
• Standard $10 per organization per month
• Professional $20 per organization per month
• ELITE $ 100

Why Should You Take It?

Zoho Books offers an “Autoscan” feature, which can scan and record receipts and other financial documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. If you are way too busy with a given accounting data entry service, then this tool can extract details from scanned images and automatically populate the entries in the accounting records.

Virtual Assistant Tools for Social Media Management

Social media management tools help VAs manage social media tasks for businesses or even agencies. They schedule posts in advance so they don’t have to be online all the time. They also provide analytics to track performance and engagement to help VAs understand what works best. 

34. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that schedules and publishes content across multiple social media channels from one dashboard. Businesses or virtual assistants can increase productivity by centralizing social media tasks, enabling efficient content planning and posting.

Features:

• Social media scheduling
• Content calendar
• Social media monitoring
• Analytics and Reporting
• Team collaboration tools

Remarkable Benefits:

• Utilize social listening to stay on top of trends, industry leaders, and competition with search query streams, as well as brand sentiment monitoring.
• Manage paid social media ads alongside organic content, with features like side-by-side reporting and automatic conversion of top-performing posts into ads.

Pricing:

• Professional $99 per month
• Team $249 per month
• Business Custom pricing

Why Should You Take It?

Hootsuite’s “Geo-Targeting” for posts is a feature that, as a VA, you can consider for betterment in social media management. You can send messages to the right audience and market your product or services.

35. Sprout Social

Sprout Social, a social media management tool, utilizes social media’s full potential to transform marketing and social media strategy and every facet of business. It simplifies social media tasks and provides valuable insights into audience engagement.

Features:

• Social media publishing
• Social listening
• Analytics and Reporting
• Team collaboration
• Customer engagement tools
• Influencer marketing
• Employee advocacy

Remarkable Benefits:

• Unite social and commerce workflows with integrations like Instagram Shops and Facebook Shops.
• See live updates when a team member is checking out or replying to a message and keep track of and interact with comments on all profiles.

Pricing:

• Standard $199 per user per month
• Professional $299 per user per month
• Advanced $399 per user per month

Why Should You Take It?

Digital marketing virtual assistants or simply VAs always have a hectic schedule, and staying consistent in response to common inquiries on social media is tough. Here, Sprout Social’s unique feature, “Suggested Replies,” can prove super effective.

36. Buffer

When content scheduling and publishing across various platforms seem daunting, Buffer is a tool that comes with the solution. It helps VAs increase productivity by offering an intuitive interface and time-saving features.

Features:

• Social media scheduling
• Content calendar
• Analytics and Reporting
• Team collaboration
• Browser extension for easy sharing

Remarkable Benefits:

• Use tools like the AI writer and post idea generator to create engaging content and access Canva templates for design needs.
• Buffer offers a free plan for up to three channels, with paid plans starting at a low monthly fee per channel, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.

Pricing:

• Pro $6 per month
• Team $12 per month
• Agency $120 per month

Why Should You Take It?

Buffer’s “Optimal Timing Tool” analyzes your previous posts to determine the best times for posting based on when your audience has been most engaged in the past. Personally, I recommend this tool for this feature to maximize visibility.

37. SocialBee

SocialBee is a social media management tool that helps users organize and schedule content for various platforms. It aids VAs in increasing productivity by offering automation features and content recycling options.

Features:

• Social media scheduling
• Content categorization
• Content recycling
• Analytics and Reporting
• Team collaboration
• Content scheduling

Remarkable Benefits:

• Makes it simple to organize and tag content.
• Supports reusing content to prolong the life of posts.

Pricing:

• Bootstrap $19 per month
• Accelerate $39 per month
• Professional $79 per month

Why Should You Take It?

If you want a strategic mix of content that keeps audiences engaged over time, then the SocialBee “Content Categories” feature is for you.

Operations and Process Documentation Tools

Productivity tools are like assistants for Virtual Assistants (VAs), designed to simplify tasks and increase efficiency. When it comes to operations and process documentation, businesses hire document conversion services, where these tools are essential for VAs.

38. Confluence

Confluence is a collaboration software that enables teams to create, organize, and discuss work in one centralized location.

Features:

• Document creation and editing
• Team collaboration spaces
• Integration with other Atlassian tools
• Knowledge base creation
• Confluence databases (Beta)
• Atlassian intelligence
• Bulk page management

Remarkable Benefits:

• Use a hierarchical structure to organize space content for easy-to-find and manage work.
• Access site-level insights and controls all in one place.
• Define company-specific terms and acronyms by hovering over them for quick understanding.

Pricing:

• Standard $4.89 per user per month
• Premium $8.97 per user per month
• Enterprise contact sales for pricing

Why Should You Take It?

Explore the “Blueprints” feature, which provides templates that help users start various types of content projects quickly. Blueprints come preloaded with the best practice structure.

39. Miro

Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard platform that helps teams brainstorm, plan, and visualize ideas. Virtual assistants use these tools as a digital workspace for process mapping, project planning, and collaborative diagramming.

Features:

• Online whiteboard canvas
• Collaboration tools (comments, @mentions)
• Pre-built templates for various use cases
• Integration with popular tools (Slack, Jira)
• Real-time collaboration

Remarkable Benefits:

• Enables visual brainstorming and idea generation.
• Enterprise-Grade Security: Ensures data protection with SSL encryption, SSO, advanced user management, and compliance with SOC-2, GDPR, and PCI standards.

Pricing:

• Team $8 per user per month
• Business $16 per user per month
• Enterprise contact sales for pricing

Why Should You Take It?

Miro offers an advanced “Infinite Canvas” feature that stands out for its limitless expansion capabilities. You can keep adding content without ever running out of space. 

40. Lucidchart

Lucidchart is featured for creating flowcharts, mind maps, and other visual diagrams. It helps increase VAs’ productivity by providing tools for process documentation, system mapping, and organizational chart creation.

Features:

• Drag-and-drop diagram editor
• Collaboration features (comments, @mentions)
• Templates for various diagram types
• Integration with other productivity tools (Google Drive, Microsoft Office)
• Real-time collaboration

Remarkable Benefits:

• Increase productivity with features like easy style shapes, clean diagrams, keyboard shortcuts, and an expandable canvas.
• Quickly visualize your team’s processes, systems, and organizational structure with intelligent diagramming capabilities.

Pricing:

• Individual $7.95 per user per month
• Team $9.95 per user per month
• Enterprise contact sales for pricing

Why Should You Take It?

Lucidchart offers a cool “Data Linking” feature that lets users link their diagrams to live data from sources such as Google Sheets, Excel, or different databases. This feature automatically updates visuals as data changes. You can also link data from your data warehouse with the help of Data Warehouse Consulting

41. Pell.io

Pell.io is a process documentation and knowledge management platform designed to help teams streamline workflows and improve productivity. It assists VAs by providing tools for documenting processes, creating knowledge bases, and sharing information efficiently.

Features:

• Process documentation templates
• Knowledge base creation
• Team collaboration spaces
• Task assignment and tracking
• Integration with project management tools

Remarkable Benefits:

• Simplifies process documentation with customizable templates.
• Enhance process documentation with images, videos, file attachments, and HTML.

Pricing:

• Basic $5 per user per month
• Professional $10 per user per month
• Enterprise contact sales for pricing

Why Should You Take It?

You or your team to start from scratch is simply nothing but wasting time. There are other core tasks to focus on. So, Pellio can help with Automated Workflow Templates, where you can get pre-built templates for common business processes.

42. Scribe

Scribe is a documentation and content creation platform designed to help teams capture, organize, and share knowledge effectively. It increases VA productivity by providing tools for creating, editing, and collaborating on documents and content.

Features:

• Document creation and editing
• Version control and revision history
• Collaboration features (comments, @mentions)
• Workflow automation
• Integration with other productivity tools
• Redact sensitive information

Remarkable Benefits:

• Customize your process guides with AI-generated titles and descriptions, company branding, GIFs, and formatted text.
• Automatically captures any web, desktop, or mobile process into a step-by-step guide.

Pricing:

• Basic free
• Pro personal $23 per user, $12 team per month
• Enterprise contact sales for pricing

Why Should You Take It?

Scribe’s standout feature is its tool for creating “Step-by-Step Guides.” It can automatically produce visual and written guides for any task you do on your computer. This tool is especially handy for making easy-to-follow training materials or process documentation.